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XML to TSV Converter

Convert XML data to TSV (Tab-Separated Values) format

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Tip: XML should have repeating elements (like ) that will be converted to TSV rows.

Input XML Data

Paste your XML code here...

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XML to TSV Converter

An XML to TSV converter reads the nested tags in an XML document and flattens them into rows and columns separated by tab characters. Each repeated element becomes a record, and its child elements or attributes become fields. The result is a plain text table you can open in a spreadsheet.

This tool runs in your browser. You paste XML or upload an .xml file, and the converted table appears in the output area. No data is sent to a server during the process.

How the Conversion Works

The parser walks the XML tree and identifies the repeating element that represents a record. It collects the child element names into a header row, then writes one line per record with values placed under the matching column. Fields are joined with the tab character ( \t ) and each record ends with a newline.

Namespace prefixes are stripped from element names, so a tag like ns:price becomes price in the header. If the XML is malformed, the tool reports a parsing error instead of producing broken output.

Here is a small example of the transformation: 

<books>
  <book><title>Dune</title><year>1965</year></book>
  <book><title>Solaris</title><year>1961</year></book>
</books>

title	year
Dune	1965
Solaris	1961

How to Use the Tool

The input textarea accepts pasted text or the contents of an uploaded file. Once the input parses cleanly, the table renders in the output area, ready to copy or save.

  1. Open the XML to TSV converter page.
  2. Paste your XML into the input box, or upload an .xml file.
  3. Check the tab-separated output that appears below.
  4. Click "Copy" to place the result on your clipboard, or "Download" to save it as a file.

The saved output opens directly in Excel, Google Sheets, or any editor that reads tab-delimited text.

Why Tab-Separated Output Helps

TSV uses the tab character as its only delimiter. Because commas rarely need escaping in tab-separated data, values that contain commas stay intact without quotation marks. That makes the format predictable when your XML holds text with punctuation.

  • Spreadsheet applications paste tab-delimited rows into cells without extra setup.
  • Fields with commas or semicolons need no quoting, unlike CSV.
  • The plain text layout is small and readable in any editor.
  • Column order follows the order of child elements in each record.

When to Choose This Over Other Formats

Pick the format that matches your target system. This tool writes tab-separated rows, while sibling converters produce different structures from the same XML source.

  • XML to CSV uses commas and quotes fields when needed, which suits tools that expect comma-delimited files.
  • XML to JSON keeps nesting intact, which fits code and APIs better than a flat table.
  • This TSV output is best when you paste straight into a spreadsheet or feed a tab-reading import step.

If your data starts as a spreadsheet table instead of XML, the TSV to XML converter runs the reverse transformation.

FAQ

It reads the nested tags in an XML document and turns the repeating elements into a table. The parser collects child element names as a header row, then writes one line per record. Fields are joined with tab characters and records are separated by newlines, producing plain tab-delimited text.

No. The conversion runs in your browser using client-side code. Your XML is parsed and rebuilt into tab-separated text on your own device, and nothing is transmitted to any server. This means you can process private or internal files without them leaving the machine you are working on.

You have two options. Paste the XML text straight into the input textarea, or upload an .xml file from your device. Either way, the tool parses the input and shows the tab-separated result in the output area. From there you can copy it to your clipboard or download it as a file.

Namespace prefixes are removed from element names during conversion. A tag written as ns:price becomes price in the header row. This keeps the column names short and readable. The values themselves are unchanged, since only the prefix on the tag name is dropped.

The parser needs valid, well-formed XML with matching opening and closing tags. If a tag is unclosed or the structure is broken, the tool reports a parsing error rather than producing an incomplete table. Fix the reported issue in your source, then paste it again to get clean tab-separated output.

Both are flat tables. TSV separates fields with tab characters, so values containing commas need no quoting. CSV separates fields with commas and wraps any value that itself contains a comma in quotation marks. If you want commas instead of tabs, use the XML to CSV converter , which applies that quoting automatically.

Yes. Tab-separated text is a native paste format for spreadsheet programs. You can copy the output and paste it directly into a sheet, and each tab starts a new column. You can also download the file and open it, since Excel and Google Sheets both read tab-delimited data.

A tab-separated table is flat, so deeply nested structures are flattened into columns based on the repeating record element and its direct children. If your data has heavy nesting that a table cannot represent well, a hierarchical format keeps it intact. The XML to JSON converter preserves that nesting.

The header row is built from the child element names inside the repeating record element. Each unique child tag becomes a column title, in the order the parser encounters it. Subsequent records fill their values under the matching column, which keeps the data aligned across every row of the output.

Yes, but you use a different tool for the reverse direction. The TSV to XML converter reads the header row as element names and wraps each data row in tags. That process rebuilds nested elements from a flat table, which is the opposite of what this page does.

Because the work runs in your browser, the practical limit depends on your device memory rather than a server quota. Small and medium files convert without issue. Very large documents may slow the browser tab, since the whole file is parsed in memory at once. Splitting a huge file into parts helps in that case.